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[Music]
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all homes have a history which includes
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the memories hopes and dreams of all who
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have lived there
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but this home in a quiet upscale
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neighborhood in suburban new york held
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something more
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in a steel drum stored in a crawl space
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was a secret that someone had hoped
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would last a lifetime
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[Music]
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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[Applause]
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september 2nd
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1999 was moving day for the cohen family
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in jericho new york
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before leaving that day ronald cohen
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noticed that the sanitation workers
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hadn't picked up all of his trash
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a note on a large steel drum said it
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wasn't removed because of its weight
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cohen had no idea what was inside since
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it had been in a crawl space in his home
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since the day he moved in nine years
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earlier
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[Music]
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when he broke the seal
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cohen was overcome by a terrible stench
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inside
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he saw what appeared to be
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a human hand and a lady's shoe
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[Music]
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local police transported the drum to the
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nassau county morgue where all of its
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contents were carefully removed for
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forensic examination inside
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were the mummified remains of a young
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woman
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there were also some plastic pellets a
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green plastic flower stem with leaves
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and a woman's pocketbook which was
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submerged in a mysterious brownish-green
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liquid at the bottom of the drum
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the liquid had virtually destroyed the
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contents of the pocketbook which might
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have identified the victim
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the cause of death appeared to be blunt
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force trauma to the head
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what was most noteworthy to the body and
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the cause of death were that there were
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10 different injuries called lacerations
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to the back and upper part of her head
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there are multiple fractures to the
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skull in some areas the skull was broken
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into small pieces there also was blood
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staining to these areas of injuries
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indicating that they occurred while she
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was alive
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but who was this murdered woman
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the medical examiner determined that the
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woman was either white or hispanic
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between 20 and 30 years of age she stood
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approximately five feet tall she also
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had some unusual dental work it didn't
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appear to be dental work that was
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performed in the united states it led me
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to believe that it was from a south
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american country
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when dr cadenese x-rayed the body
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he made a shocking discovery
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a 17-inch fetus a close to full-term
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baby boy
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three pieces of jewelry were removed
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from the body two rings and a locket
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that was inscribed to patrice love uncle
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phil
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the first discovery would come from the
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barrel itself
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there were several coated numbers on the
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drum one was as good as a fingerprint it
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led to a chemical company in linden new
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jersey
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company records indicated that the drum
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was manufactured in 1965
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now
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34 years later it shows up as someone's
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makeshift coffin
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[Music]
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a 55-gallon steel drum concealed in a
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crawl space of a suburban new york home
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revealed shocking evidence of a homicide
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the most recent owner said it had been
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in the crawl space since the day he
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moved in in 1990 the owner before that
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told police the same thing and said it
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never occurred to him to open the
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container since there were chemical
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labels on the side
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the woman's purse found in the liquid at
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the bottom of the drum
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contains some papers and an address book
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the pages were illegible since the
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liquid had reduced the paper to little
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more than pulp
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they were all sent to a forensic
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document examiner for analysis
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it was so heavily and thickly encrusted
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with a
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brownish yellow slime
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it was like a jelly like substance
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and it coated everything and when i
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touched
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the evidence with my gloves on i could
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see it just came right off of my hands
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the items had to be placed in a forensic
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drying cabinet for several days to draw
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out the moisture
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when dry
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they could be examined with a video
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spectral comparator or vsc which
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combines advanced digital engineering
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with the full range of infrared light
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sources in order to visualize writing
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that is not discernible with the naked
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eye
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this technology can show where
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alterations have been made on a check
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with the various light sources under an
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infrared luminescence setting the
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different ink will glow
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magnification can also detect when
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official documents have been altered
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two pages of a legal contract appear the
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same
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but under ultraviolet light it reveals
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that one of the pages was added later
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indented impressions left behind become
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visible with oblique or side lighting
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light from behind or transmitted light
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can show what's written under correction
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fluid
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after the pages from the barrel were dry
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the results were disappointing
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the liquid had removed the ink from the
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pages
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but after hours of meticulous and
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delicate work under infrared camera
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filters the document examiner started to
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see some names and addresses in the
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address book
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as i put it under the machine and tried
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the various filters and lights
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some names and phone numbers and
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addresses started to come up in the book
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it was actually quite amazing to see
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writing
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appear
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from within the pages of this book that
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had been submerged
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in these fluids
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for 30 some odd years
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but the information in the address book
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was 30 years old too
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and when investigators dialed the
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telephone numbers the individuals had
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long since moved
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facing an apparent dead end
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investigators turned their attention to
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the family who owned the home in the
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1960s
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the time frame in which the steel drum
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had been manufactured
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the owner in those years was a man named
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howard elkins who is now retired and
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living in boca raton florida
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and we have people in the neighborhood
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who are
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long-term residents say he was involved
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in some plastics company in manhattan
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the plastic connection rang alarm bells
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since a plastic leaf and plastic pellets
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were found in the drum along with the
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murdered woman
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in the 1960s howard elkins was part
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owner of the melrose plastic company in
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manhattan
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the company manufactured plastic plants
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and trees
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as investigators made plans to interview
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howard elkins in florida
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the address book from the drum
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started to reveal more names
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and more secrets
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the pieces of the puzzle were starting
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to come together in the search for the
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identity of the murdered pregnant woman
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found in the metal drum
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the serial numbers on the drum led
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investigators to a chemical company
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based in new jersey i went there with a
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detective from our lab who has some
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knowledge of chemicals
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we went there and we showed them the
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pellets and we showed them the green
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material
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showed them pictures of the barrel
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the chemical company identified the
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green liquid in the bottom of the drum
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as a die
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a halogen green dye used to color the
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bases on plastic flowers and trees but
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it hadn't been manufactured since 1971
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the pellets in the drum were the type
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used in making plastic leaves and
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flowers like the plastic leaf found with
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the body
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the local newspaper coverage of the
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unidentified woman in the steel drum led
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to an anonymous telephone call to the
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nassau county police he tells us about
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the drum where it comes from it tells us
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that that was the chemicals that they
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used when they were mixing the bases for
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these artificial trees so he puts all
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this together he puts everything in
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perspective first the caller did not
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know the identity of the dead woman but
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said that howard elkins was having an
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affair in the 1960s with an hispanic
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woman who worked for him in his plastic
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factory
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so we now have things to talk to about
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other than the fact that there was a
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barrel found under his house
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when police flew to boca raton florida
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to speak with howard elkins he wasn't
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entirely cooperative
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did you ever use this type of a barrel
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in your business no we never had any
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barrels like that no we never had any
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barrels like that
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did you ever use a dinos halogen green
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no we never used the chemical we had no
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need to use the cap there were plastic
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pellets found in the barrel
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and we believe that they were used in
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your business is that right i don't know
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i don't know what they would have been
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used for
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he lied to us we knew he was lying to us
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within five minutes of the interview i
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asked him at one point if
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you had did you ever have an affair
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while you were working here
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and he kind of surprised us and he said
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yes
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but then we went into what was her name
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i don't know
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can you describe her it was 30 years ago
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i said you can't even describe her was
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she tall was she short was she fat was
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she skinny was she spanish
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i don't remember
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after about 20 minutes of this uh i had
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removed
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from my briefcase a kit
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and i asked him if he would give me
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permission for me to take a swab from
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the inside of his mouth
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for dna purposes
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to see if he in fact was the father of
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that baby he told us no he said dude
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he didn't think he would allow that
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the interview was interrupted by a phone
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call from elkin's wife
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elkins asked the police to leave saying
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he wanted to speak with her privately
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this is private you're gonna have to
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leave
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after he asked us to leave we told him
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that we would
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i said that there was not a doubt in my
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mind that he was involved in this
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and i stood up and i stood right in
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front of him and i said we're gonna
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leave now mistaken
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but i'm going to get a court order i'm
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going to come back with that court order
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and i'm going to take your blood and i'm
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going to match your blood up to the dead
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baby and that dead girl
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and i'm going to come back here and
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arrest you for murder and put you in
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jail for the rest of your life he nodded
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his head and he opened the door and
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asked us to leave
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as police left to get the court order
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howard elkins left to go shopping
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he purchased a shotgun
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and some ammunition
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howard elkins was found inside a
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neighbor's garage by police and his own
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son
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a shotgun between his legs a fatal
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self-inflicted wound to his head
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the 70-year-old retired plastics
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executive left no final note of
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explanation
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after his suicide investigators took a
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sample of howard elkin's blood and sent
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it to labcorp a north carolina dna
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testing facility
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when we're testing for paternity we look
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for shared dna bands between the child
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or the fetus and the alleged father in
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the case of the fetus found in the drum
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there were obstacles to overcome
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the tissue samples from the fetus were
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very badly degraded after 30 years
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a technique called polymerase chain
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reaction or pcr allowed scientists to
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amplify the existing dna making an
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analysis possible
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this is the dna banding pattern from the
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fetus this is the dna banding pattern
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from mr elkins at every region of the
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dna that we tested the fetus and mr
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elkins have a band in common
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mr elkins could not be excluded with a
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99.93
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probability of paternity
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although the crime was solved
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one mystery remained
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the identity
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of the woman in the drum
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the small address book that had been
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submerged in the green liquid in the
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bottom of the drum was finally starting
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to tell a story
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thirty-year-old secrets on blank pages
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that were now readable with the latest
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in forensic technology i
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kept looking through the book
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and on this page on the second line i
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found the name mr elkins
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and the address in manhattan with a
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phone number
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on another page
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barely readable were the words
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residencia nombre
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a resident alien number
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and the address and telephone number of
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someone named kathy andrade
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investigators were surprised to learn
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that after 30 years she was still living
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in the same apartment with the same
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telephone number
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kathy andrade knew immediately the
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identity of the pregnant young woman in
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the drum she was a student in her
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english class
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reyna angelica marikin
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from el salvador
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this lady almost immediately went to
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tears
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she told us that she knew angelic
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american that she was the one of the
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more lovely people that she ever knew
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and that she disappeared 30 years ago
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kathy andrade never knew what happened
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to her friend reyna maraquin although
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she feared she had met with foul play
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and i was in shock and i said oh my god
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you know it's hard to believe that these
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things can happen reyna marrakeen came
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to the united states in 1966
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and lived here in a modest room in a
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catholic home for single women
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she attended classes at the high school
00:15:51
of fashion industry and got a job at the
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melrose plastic company making
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artificial flowers
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she had a beautiful personality
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she always talked about her family and
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she was in touch with the family how
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much she loved new york and her dream
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was to become an american citizen
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shortly before she disappeared
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reina told kathy that she was pregnant
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but she did not tell her who the father
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was
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is he going to marry you she said
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eventually he will marry me
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i never asked her because she never said
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who he was
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but reyna told kathy that her boyfriend
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was married with three other children
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and reyna was beginning to question
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whether he had any intention of leaving
00:16:35
his wife and children to marry her so
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she got very angry
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she called the house
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and once the phone was his wife
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and she told his wife that she was
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expecting a baby
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from her husband
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then he called her back and he says i am
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going to kill you
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i will never forgive you she was cried
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she was terrified he's going to kill me
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he's going to kill me i said why do you
00:17:03
she says i don't know i don't know i
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just made a stupid mistake
00:17:08
when kathy andrade went to reina's
00:17:10
apartment she found the door unlocked
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but there was no sign of rainer
00:17:16
and i waited for about three hours
00:17:18
when nobody returned the phone never
00:17:20
rang or anything
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i got scared
00:17:24
i walked into the police station and i
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spoke to the officer
00:17:28
and he says are you a relative of the
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young lady i said no i'm only a friend
00:17:33
and i said but she's spreading she's
00:17:35
about to have a baby oh she said you
00:17:37
know she probably went shopping
00:17:39
and since kathy andrade didn't know the
00:17:42
identity of reina's lover there was
00:17:44
little more she could tell police how
00:17:47
about reyna
00:17:48
honestly i feel sorry
00:17:50
because there was a future for her
00:17:52
you know she paid very dear for that
00:17:54
mistake
00:17:55
[Music]
00:17:57
mr elkins investigators believe that
00:18:00
howard elkins lured reina to the factory
00:18:03
one night shortly after she told elkin's
00:18:06
wife about their affair and elkins
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beat her to death
00:18:12
he then took the body to his suburban
00:18:14
long island home probably with the
00:18:16
intention of dumping her into the ocean
00:18:19
from his boat
00:18:20
[Music]
00:18:23
he placed the body into a steel drum
00:18:25
from work
00:18:34
to make sure it would sink to the bottom
00:18:36
of the ocean
00:18:37
he weighted it with plastic pellets
00:18:47
[Music]
00:18:59
[Music]
00:19:05
[Music]
00:19:17
but he miscalculated the weight of the
00:19:19
drum after he sealed it at 350 pounds it
00:19:22
was much too heavy to carry on to his
00:19:24
boat
00:19:29
[Music]
00:19:32
his only alternative was to push it into
00:19:34
a crawl space in his home
00:19:36
and there it remained undisturbed
00:19:40
through numerous owners for 34 years
00:19:46
and for 30 years she spent in a barrel
00:19:48
while howard elkins raised his family
00:19:50
and had his children go to school
00:19:54
and led whatever as normal life as you
00:19:56
can
00:19:57
you know waiting for that other shoe to
00:19:58
drop
00:20:00
and if trash collectors hadn't refused
00:20:02
to pick up the drum
00:20:03
the secret of howard elkins and reyna
00:20:06
angelica marrakeen might never have been
00:20:09
discovered
00:20:11
oscar corral covered the story for
00:20:13
newsday
00:20:15
he flew down to el salvador to try to
00:20:17
find reina's family in san martin a
00:20:21
small village outside of san salvador
00:20:24
he found reyna marrakeen's 95 year old
00:20:28
mother she came out to the front of the
00:20:30
house where there was a porch and i said
00:20:32
to her i'm a reporter from newsday new
00:20:34
york i told her that police had
00:20:36
discovered a woman
00:20:38
who had been murdered 30 years ago and
00:20:41
when she saw her daughter's picture
00:20:43
she
00:20:44
almost fainted she had to lean on
00:20:46
somebody who was carrying her her face
00:20:49
fell
00:20:50
she immediately began to weep it had
00:20:51
been 30 years that this woman waited for
00:20:54
an answer
00:20:55
she told me she had dreams about her
00:20:57
daughter for 30 years
00:20:58
she told me she had a dream even that
00:21:00
her daughter was in a barrel
00:21:02
that haunted her for so long
00:21:05
reyna maraquin left el salvador because
00:21:08
she discovered her husband had a lover
00:21:11
who was pregnant with her husband's
00:21:13
child
00:21:15
when she fled to new york city reyna
00:21:17
found herself in the same situation
00:21:20
although this time
00:21:21
she was the pregnant other woman in a
00:21:24
love triangle that had
00:21:26
disastrous consequences so she was on
00:21:31
both sides of the fence
00:21:33
in this case
00:21:34
and in the end it cost her her life
00:21:38
investigators found one last message on
00:21:41
a blank piece of paper found in the drum
00:21:44
alongside reyna marrakeen and her unborn
00:21:47
child
00:21:48
a message possibly from reyna herself to
00:21:52
howard elkins
00:21:54
it said
00:21:55
don't be mad
00:21:57
i told the truth
00:21:59
[Music]
00:22:13
[Music]
00:22:33
you
